Online Marketing Blog

JupiterResearch has release their “US SEM Executive Survey 2006″ reporting that 40 percent of search marketers spent at least $500,000 on search in 2005, compared to 12 percent in 2004. A significant number of those companies are using search marketing to satisfy their online branding objectives.

The JupiterResearch survey also found that, while search marketing has traditionally been used for direct marketing purposes, more marketers are seeing the value of search for branding.

While generating immediate sales of online products is the goal of 37 percent of sophisticated search advertisers, 31 percent say building brand awareness is their main objective.

Yes dear friends, I’ve said it. Paid search can be a pain in the rear. But no worries, search engine marketing guru Andrew Goodman of Traffick and Page Zero Media promises to shed some light on the subject in conjunction with a Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) seminar next week.

Goodman’s presentation, “IT’S NOT JUST YOU: PAY-PER-CLICK CAN BE A REAL BEAST” will cover examples of Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing challenges, SEM relations, click fraud, CPOs vs. market share growth, data privacy, auctions and more.

Measuring success of your online marketing efforts is a critical, but often underutilized in many web marketing initiatives. Recently I took a survey for Jupiter Research and one of the questions got me thinking about the different metrics that companies use:

• Brand impact (i.e., increased brand awareness, intent or favorability)
• Number of impressions
• Position of paid listing
• Number of clicks
• Ratio of new to returning visitors
• Amount of increased website traffic
• Duration of website visits
• Amount of increased traffic to physical store
• Amount of increased volume to call center